a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
In 2008 I voted for President Obama hoping for comparisons with Franklin D Roosevelt, a Democratic president who entered office amid a financial crisis and who used the federal government to help working people find and keep jobs. However, I did not expect or want my comparison to extend to FDR’s signing 70 years ago [...]
Dear Mr. Pete Hoekstra, You appealed to the general public on Super Bowl Sunday to vote for you, rather than that spendy Democrat incumbent of yours. That ad, which you say is not racist and not at all demeaning to Asians — and is actually just rhetoric against the taxing excess shown by Debbie Stabenow [...]
Time of Remembrance observances are coming up in another few weeks, a good time to do something to assure, “never again.” This year, in the context of the National Defense Authorization Act that provides for indefinite military detention of the accused, we need to be more vigilant than ever, especially with two companion pieces of [...]
The latest Redistricting map for the Supervisor Districts in San Francisco is BAD news for J-Town. It places J-Town north of Geary in District 2 and south of Geary to remain in District 5. 1. J-Town does not start north of Geary Boulevard; it starts from Ellis Street where Rosa Parks Elementary School and the [...]
What is the impact of moving the voting boundary lines by dividing the Japanese community of San Francisco? That is precisely the intent of the new redistricting lines being drawn between District 2 (D2), Supervisor Mark Farrell’s district, which includes Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Seacliff and the Marina. And if the people promoting this idea [...]
It was through a news report in the early nineteen forties that I first became aware of the remarkable Gordon Hirabayashi. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor he had surrendered to the authorities and asked to be imprisoned for violating the curfew order that was imposed on all those of Japanese ancestry. He apparently disagreed [...]
January 10, 2012 The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Obama, Before I begin, I must say that I have the utmost respect for the Office of the President, and I want to thank you for the job you are doing [...]
CLARKSBURG, Calif. — Passing through acres of vineyards along the narrow country road, we are mesmerized by the serene rural landscape and miss the turn. We double back to find our way, and spy in the distance, a forlorn wooden-framed structure with mint julep painted trim that otherwise matches the silhouette of the old gakuen [...]
The day began with drama. My sister and I had come to the ceremony on behalf of our late father. She had gone to the Washington Hilton, headquarters for the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, to reconnoiter and register us. Some minutes later, she phoned me yelling, “Get over here. The buses are leaving for the ceremony!” [...]
Jeremy Lin and Bruce Lee
All my life I’ve wondered exactly how Bruce Lee, the world’s greatest martial artist (at least in film), could be Asian, but there had never been a dominant, cat-quick, ninja-like point guard, akin to Allen Iverson, or Brandon Jennings — thin, wiry, yet strong and fluid, and SO quick you couldn’t stop him. As an [...]